Democracy

Ministerial Conference

Conference of European Ministers responsible for Family Affairs29th Session - 16-17 June 2009, Vienna, Austria

"Public policies supporting the wish to have children: societal, economic and personal factors"

Why many Europeans have fewer children than they actually
want: Societal and economic factors

There is evidence to show that many people in Europe who wish to
have children are postponing, limiting or failing to fulfil this
wish. What are the societal, economic or other reasons for this gap
between the desired and the actual number of children and which
factors can and should be addressed by public policy?

Family-friendly policies: measures for an optimal framework

There is a great variety of policy instruments aiming at
improving the situation of families such as family benefits,
measures to reconcile professional and family life or the creation
of a child-friendly environment. What are good practises and
innovative policy measures that create an optimal framework for
people who wish to have children?

The unfulfilled wish to have children: personal factors and
children's best interests

How can family policy address the social and psychological
aspects of involuntary childlessness? And how can the best interest
of the child be ensured when people wish to resort to adoption to
fulfil their wish for a child?